Harry Potter: Death Reincarnate
by HermiHugs
Summary: Voldemort was defeated but only after a lot of innocent lives were lost. The balance between good and evil badly disturbed. Harry Potter is the master of death, what does that mean? Do the Hallows have a more important function? Time travel fiction
1. Chapter One: Master of death

A/N: Voldemort was defeated but only after a lot of innocent lives were lost. The balance between good and evil badly disturbed. Harry Potter is the master of death, what does that mean? Do the Hallows have a more important function? Time travel fiction, Harry and Hermione Pairing. Some of the phrases were directly borrowed from the final book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and are depicted in bold characters.

**Declaration: ****I write for my own pleasure and not for profit. I do not own Harry Potter Universe.**

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><p><strong>Harry Potter: Death Reincarnate<strong>

**Chapter One: Master of death**

It was coming close to lunch time as Harry Potter, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley were talking to Professor Dumbledore's portrait in the headmaster's office with Minerva McGonagall the incumbent headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for company. The day started out with an all-out duel between the forces of 'light' and 'dark' finally ending with the death of the most feared dark lord of recent times, Lord Voldemort at the hands of 'The Chosen One' Harry Potter. His two friends Hermione and Ron were with him all the way helping him to defeat the darkness even though Ron abandoned them for a short time; he joined them again to complete the hunt. They were explaining the events that brought an end to Voldemort including the time spent roaming around the country hunting for the horcruxes and ending his life.

"I commend you three for the bravery that you displayed to end Voldemort. I can only apologize for not doing more to help you out", Dumbledore spoke from his portrait after hearing the amazing tale.

"It's aright sir, a little more help would have been appreciated a lot but we managed to get the job done. There is no point in reminiscing about what could have been" Harry replied.

Hermione was not expecting such a remark from him, as he was usually liberal with his forgiveness even to those who did not deserve it, and she could see that both Professors McGonagall and Dumbledore were also caught unawares by his remark. She could guess why Harry was still peeved at the former headmaster; he 'died' for the second time in his short life that night after all, and that would put anyone in a bad mood.

"The stone that was in the snitch was very useful but still caused me great pain and so I dropped it in the forest where I met my parents and Sirius. The cloak as you said is my family heirloom and will remain in my family" he told them all but looking at Dumbledore in particular. Dumbledore in turn beamed at him and applauded his decision.

"**And then there's this." Harry held up the Elder Wand, and Hermione looked at it with a reverence that, even in his befuddled and sleep-deprived state, Harry did not like to see.** But what shocked him the most was the look of unbridled envy and jealousy on Ron's face. He saw that look before on Ron when his name came out of the 'Goblet of Fire' in their fourth year and he was not happy. He sincerely hoped that Ron grew up from that stage where jealousy controlled his actions, and hoped he did not see that look again, but Harry was wrong again.

Harry was not the only one who noticed that envious look from Ron; Hermione standing to the right and slightly behind Harry was shaking her head in disappointment at Ron. She had thoughts of having a meaningful relationship with a matured Ron, but looking at his attitude she feared that she may have to settle for a compromise again. Professor McGonagall, who was quite until now looked to chastise Ron for the disgusting display but deciding not to create a scene, kept her temper in control.

Harry took the mokeskin pouch from Hermione giving a rueful smile reserved only for her, communicating his displeasure at Ron. **Rummaging in the pouch he pulled out the two halves of holly still just connected by the finest thread of phoenix feather. He laid the broken wand upon the headmaster's desk, touched it with the very tip of the Elder Wand, and said "Reparo."**

**As his wand resealed, red sparks flew out of its end. Harry knew that he had succeeded. He picked up the holly and phoenix wand and felt a sudden warmth in his fingers, as though wand and hand were rejoicing at their reunion.**

"**I don't want it." said Harry **and before he could continue, **"What?" said Ron Loudly. "Are you mental?"**

Dumbledore interrupted the impending argument, "the wand has a history of blood being passed owing to the death of the previous owner often at the hands of the new owner. The power that it holds should not be in the hands of any wizard or witch. It has to be destroyed there is no other way to prevent it from getting into the wrong hands."

"That is where you are wrong headmaster; I agree with you that the Elder Wand is more powerful for any wizard or witch to handle safely. It was never meant to be used by ordinary humans; its existence has a much more profound meaning" countered Harry.

He could see that Ron was still oblivious to what was happening in the office, but the other three were intrigued by his comment. Before anyone can voice their questions, he bade a quite goodbye to Dumbledore and proceeded out of the office and began walking towards the great hall.

From the corner of the eye Harry could see that Ron was throwing furtive glances at the Elder wand clutched in his hand and he was saddened by the thought that Ron's feeling of envy about the wand was still very much alive.

Hermione was also shaking her head at Ron's obvious infatuation with the unbeatable wand and she secretly hoped that Ron would not do anything foolish to try and win the wand. Deciding to talk about it with either Ron or Harry when she got the chance, she left the topic alone for the moment. She still wanted to know about Harry's parting comment about the Deathly Hallows being more than what the legend says. She felt that Harry was implying that the Hallows should be preserved rather than destroyed. Before she could voice her question however, she saw Harry subtly shaking his head to ward off her questions with a meaningful nod of his head towards Ron. Having assured that Harry was going to answer her question, Hermione agreed to wait for an opportune moment and with a quiet gesture of acceptance, also acquiesced to the unmentioned need to keep their discussion discrete.

Reaching the great hall they were faced with the grieving Weasley family. Seeing them entering the hall, Mrs. Weasley immediately rushed towards them and still sobbing grabbed Ron in a bear hug. In between her sobs she managed to choke out, "Where did you go without telling me? I have already lost one son. I do not want you to go anywhere out of my sight." Without any concern for Ron's protests, she grabbed his arm and dragged him over to the family huddle totally ignoring Harry and Hermione.

Harry was sympathetic to the Weasley family; he knew very well the pains of losing someone dear but he could not help feeling lonely. Even at a time like this after death and destruction, he could see families getting together and sharing their love. He could not help thinking, 'What about me? I have lost everyone close to me that even remotely resembled a family. Now with Remus and Tonks gone, I have lost all pretenses at a childhood and became a father taking care of Teddy.'

Looking over at Hermione he could see the pain in her eyes probably thinking about her parents who do not know about their daughter. He could see that she wished to be with them right now to draw some semblance of comfort from them.

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Realizing that she was also reluctant to join the Weasleys, Harry took her hand and with a whispered "follow me" led her to the seventh floor corridor. The 'Room of Requirement' that was destroyed in a fire during the fight was now in pristine condition and wishing for a cozy sitting room for a chat entered the room with Hermione.

Once seated on the couch provided, they relaxed in the short silence before Hermione asked, "How are you feeling Harry?"

"Exhausted, broken, pity, sorrow, shame, elation, I do not know. One emotion is warring with the other for dominance; I have no idea what I will end up with. What about you?" In answer, Hermione only shrugged one dainty shoulder which was enough to tell him that she was in the same state as he was.

Harry called for Kreacher and asked for a simple lunch for the two of them. During lunch they kept the conversation light reminiscing about their adventures in Hogwarts.

When the plates were cleared away, he knew that he could not wait any longer and getting comfortable reclining into the back of the couch he put his feet up on the table. Hermione copied his actions and though she was desperate to talk about the Hallows, waited for Harry to start.

Harry knew that what he was going to say would be painful if not downright shocking and earnestly hoped that Hermione would agree with him. The course laid out for him by fate was unavoidable but he could wish for the one person he could not live without. Gathering his courage he asked the question on which he based all his hopes and dreams, "So, you and Ron huh?" It was phrased more as statement rather than a question, and even though he tried to keep the desperation out of his voice, Hermione still sensed it.

Hermione lowered her head refusing to meet Harry's eyes. She was almost certain that he was interested in resuming his relationship with Ginny Weasley and, if he could meet her eyes, he could see the hurt and sense of loss brimming over. Through the years she had known Harry, he grew to be the most important person of her life and the fear of losing something so precious kept her from seeking something more from their friendship. Now it seems that fate has given her an opening, she was at a pivotal moment in her life and maybe this was her last chance.

She wanted to see if she could gauge his feelings towards her, "What are you asking me Harry?"

Harry tried to 'read' her to understand what she was thinking. During their time at Hogwarts, they have gotten so close that they could sense what the other was thinking just by reading each other's body language. Most of the time they did not see the need for words to express their feelings. But for the first time Harry had no idea where their conversation was going, Hermione was giving nothing away and it was up to him to take the plunge and bare his soul.

"Are you dating Ron? On more than one occasion I saw that you were disappointed with him. Through the years of our friendship I was the one breaking up your disputes and on more than one occasion you came close to blows. Even I am not that thick to accept your behaviour as a good foundation for a permanent relationship. Are you truly happy with your choice?"

He paused but he saw that Hermione was still contemplating her answer and so he forged ahead, "I guess what I am saying is that you deserve the best Hermione. You should not give away your principles to satisfy anyone but if you are willing to degrade yourself I hope that it will be for me, I will do my best to keep you happy. Do I have a chance for something more with you?"

It was time to 'put her cards on the table' as the saying goes and hope that she did not draw a losing hand. Deciding to go for broke she answered, "I decided to settle for the second best because I thought that the best was not in love with me. Ron has his jealous moments but I know him and is better than most."

Harry was outwardly calm but was bursting with joy inside, "How do you know that this other guy does not love you?"

"He has also never shown me that he does"

With a disbelieving look Harry shot back, "like dancing in a tent to cheer you up?"

Hermione was not one to back down though, "What about calling her a sister?"

Harry Immediately deflated and letting out a long suffering sigh responded in a much mellow tone. The effort looked like he was trying to avoid whining, "Maybe it was desperation to keep Ron from abandoning us again, or maybe it was because I was convinced that you love Ron and I did not want to lose you from my life. If I could not be your boyfriend, being your brother was what I convinced myself to be, or maybe the stress of the hunt and the horcrux in my head addled my brain" the last was said only in partial jest.

Hermione also let out a sigh but this was more in relief than anything else, "What are we going to do with ourselves" she asked rhetorically.

They instinctively moved towards the center of the couch and ended up sitting close to the other. Hermione laid her head on Harry's shoulder while he put his arm around her and pulled her closer to him. There was no need for words now as they were happily basking in the realization that they were in love and more importantly the other reciprocated the love.

After a moment of blissful silence Harry began, "if we decide to do what I am going to tell you, then there is no need for any future planning."

Hermione looked into Harry's eyes and from the distance of a few inches she could see the uncertainty and also a little apprehension in them. Resisting the urge to kiss him, Hermione finally started the discussion that she so desperately wanted to have, "I wanted to ask you this. What did you mean by saying that the Hallows have a higher purpose? Do you mean to say that ordinary Witches or Wizards should not handle them?"

Harry let out a sigh and remained in silent contemplation before finally speaking, "Do you remember the story of the three brothers that got the Hallows from 'death'?" Harry queried and getting a nod from Hermione continued, "That part of the legend is true enough and what you have to understand is that the Hallows cannot, or rather, should not be separated from each other. Being together is what is needed to gain a semblance of control over them, though you can never actually control them."

"You mean to say that death being a man is really true?" Hermione asked incredulously.

Harry gave a grimace and shrugged, "Yeah, that is a fact and only someone like that could actually use the Hallows. Everyone, even Dumbledore, who used the Hallows before this, tried to gain power which was not the original use for the Hallows, especially the elder wand."

"How do you know all this Harry? Is it because you are the only one who has managed to gain all the three Hallows?" Hermione asked a little fearfully.

Harry nodded his head and with his hand outstretched, concentrated for a few seconds. The resurrection stone that he dropped in the forest materialized in his hand and the three 'Deathly Hallows' clutched in his hand began glowing with an eerie dark greenish aura which was nearly black in colour. Hermione was fascinated by the power radiating off not only the Hallows but also from Harry.

Putting the Hallows away on the table, Harry started telling her about what he knew from his 'meeting' in the morning and the chance offered to him to correct the mistakes and restore balance to the world.

"It all started after defeating Voldemort and I took charge of the Elder Wand."

**Earlier in the morning**

The battle with Voldemort has finally ended and the ecstatic crowd finally began to settle down but it may also be due to the fact that the castle elves began serving them breakfast. Though the noise was not deafening, Harry was unable to concentrate on anything as it appeared that everyone was talking in his ear. He was even unable to eat properly as he began receiving memories, facts, and tales he had no knowledge about. It felt as if the entire contents of numerous history texts were being dumped into his brain.

Finishing her breakfast, Hermione left to the girl's dorm to take a shower and then lie down for a much needed nap. Ron wanted to spend some time with his family who were grieving over the death of Fred. Harry and his friends decided to meet about an hour before lunch to talk to Professor Dumbledore's portrait.

Harry was left alone with his contemplation and this gave him some time to organize and understand the new information that he came to possess. Strolling out of the castle away from the crowd, he walked down the path to the black lake and taking off his shoes and socks, sat down on a rocky outcropping dangling his legs. The cold water of the lake was soothing to his aching feet and calmed his racing mind down.

He was so involved with trying to decipher the knowledge implanted into him that he almost missed the voice that was calling out, "How are you coping young Peverell?"

Jolted out of his musings, Harry jumped up and reached for the Elder Wand frantically looking for the source of the voice. He was even more shocked when he could not see anyone near him, but the voice sounded so close to him. Then he heard a chuckle in a musical voice, "You cannot see me dear Harry, I do not have a physical form to manifest."

Harry gulped nervously, "Are you talking to me in my mind, whoever you are?"

"Yes indeed young sir. I am in your mind but still not a figment of your imagination."

"You must realize that I have bad experiences with hearing and seeing things in my mind" Harry was now seriously getting worried. He was frantically searching for answers and feared that somehow the horcrux was not completely removed and Voldemort was still in his mind.

The voice chuckled again, "Look deep into yourself Peverell; you will understand my true form and yours too."

"You mean all the information that I have acquired is real, I am really the 'master of death' and control that power?"

"Yes Harry, you are going to fill a void that has been in existence for many centuries now. You are essential for ensuring the balance between good and evil in the world."

"Why do you call me Peverell, I am not related to them, am I?" Harry questioned, he was woefully unaware of his ancestry, something that he has to rectify sooner rather than later. He was worried about what else was still buried in his heritage.

This time the voice laughed outright in response to Harry's thoughts, "Potter, Peverell, or Gryffindor what's in a name but to know a face. There is nothing more in your ancestry that is bigger than this except that being the last of the Gryffindor family you may take control of the school if you wanted."

Harry was furiously searching in his mind what the power given to him truly meant. He understood what is expected of him now that he has reunited the Hallows and it was not pleasant. He never imagined that such a power existed let alone he would wield it. He had a sinking feeling about the origin of the voice, he could not believe it though, and "Who are you?" he asked with trepidation.

"I am the one who controls all that you see and know off, I encompass everything. I am not a physical being but everyone knows me as time or more commonly as fate."

His fears confirmed, Harry thought that he would faint with the shock, he was still coping with the defeat of Voldemort and now he has this enormous responsibility thrust upon him and by fate itself. "Great another destiny thrust upon me. Don't I have any choice in this?" he groused.

"You always have a choice young Gryffindor, but as someone you know once told you, it is important to do what is right and not what is easy."

Harry was troubled; he did not want to hold any more responsibilities. He was tired of not being able to do what he wanted and when he wanted, there was no spontaneity in his life any more.

Cutting into his thoughts the voice of fate continued with a tone that brooked no argument, "This is the power that has saved you in the forest when Voldemort cast the killing curse at you. The curse could very well have ended your life and not that of the horcrux in you. Consider this as your payment for surviving the killing curse when you were a toddler. More importantly there is no one else who is as pure in spirit as you or as kind hearted as you, who would still be the same even when given all that power."

The voice softened, but the next few words heartened him more, "Do not worry, you will not be alone. I know who you want beside you in your life. You are now given a chance to right all wrongs and gain the love of the one person that was true to you all along."

Harry knew that he loved only one girl in his short life and the thought of living his life with her by his side was what made him decide. It was not like he had much choice in this anyway, and if he was going to have the love of his life with him all the better for him. Maybe it was his chance to experience what all the other's he knew had, a family of his own.

With that 'fate' fell silent leaving Harry with his own musings. He saw that it was nearly the time that he was to meet Dumbledore with Ron and Hermione. Realizing that he was in a desperate need of a bath, he rushed off to the Gryffindor dorms to take a shower.

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"So you are now the master of death" Hermione concluded

"Yeah" he paused, "Actually the name 'master of death' is not accurate. The legend is very different from the truth, I am death reincarnate."

"What gives you the right to take someone's life" Hermione challenged him. He could see that it was a test for his intentions rather than any malice in her question.

"It is not a right but a responsibility Hermione. I am the instrument fate uses to restore balance between good and bad in the world. Too many good people have died in this unnecessary war."

"And you can bring people back to life?" she asked in a much softer tone.

"Yeah! Those who have been affected by the war and lost their lives much before their time can be brought back. The only limitation is that their deaths have to have occurred within my life time and willing to come back, but they should also not have crossed over yet. That is why it is not possible to restore all the innocent lives but mostly limited to people who have died recently like Remus, Tonks, Fred, Colin" he trailed off.

"What about all the muggle-borns who were persecuted by Umbridge Harry? They were also innocent victims of the war. What about Sirius, Cedric?"

He gave her a tight smile, "I knew that you will pick up on that."

"Now fate wants to correct the problem?" She then turned contemplative, "Is it, 'HE' wants or 'SHE' wants to correct the problem?"

Harry could not help it and burst out laughing; "Only you Hermione, only you can think about that at a time like this." Hermione swatted him on the back of his head with a cry of protest.

Harry raised his arms in surrender when she prepared to launch another attack, "What I understood was that fate and time are the same. Muggles call it as 'Mother Nature' but there is only one entity that oversees everything and there is no gender. The manifestation is based on whichever gender you are comfortable with. Most of them consider fate as a female alluding to the fickle mind of the female" he said the last with a grin.

Hermione launched herself at him again swatting him on the arm but Harry grabbed her in a hug to prevent that. He was already bruised and his body was still suffering after the fight and the lack of proper sleep. She finally joined him in the laughter as she allowed it mostly to be true.

They remained in each other's arms, silent for a few minutes broken finally by Hermione, "Will it be painful Harry? You know I am not so good with pain" she tried to joke. She understood what was needed to be done in order to save all the unnecessary deaths.

With a solemn tone Harry responded, "No Hermione it will not be painful. You will not know anything, one second you will be there and the next moment all this will cease to exist. No flashes, no warnings just like a snap of your fingers." He tightened the hug and kissed her tenderly on the lips.

Hermione moved to lean on him but Harry grabbed her by her waist and pulled Hermione into his lap where she immediately clutched at his shirt and began sobbing in earnest with her head on his shoulder. Harry began rocking her gently and ran his hand through her hair cooing softly into her ear letting Hermione slowly compose herself.

Wiping her tears and nose on the sleeve of his shirt, she begged, "Make love to me Harry."

Only Hermione being in his lap prevented him from jumping up in surprise. He could only squeak out "What?"

"I do not know if I am brave enough to die without knowing if I will see you again Harry, I always hoped that my first time will be with you. Being left to live my life alone was my deepest fear before I met you and then my deepest desire was to wake up by your side every night; maybe I saved myself for this moment."

"Hermione, I will find you again and this time I will make sure that we will be together right from the start."

"How do you know that I will even be there Harry? What if I do not meet you at all?"

Taking her hand in his, he pressed the flat of her palm onto his chest right above his heart "Hermione, I was given this chance so that I can live my life with my love. Only you have this, my heart, in your hand. I cannot live without you in my life. You are the one that keeps me safe and sane; you are the voice of my conscience. However many lives I have to live, you are the only one that can be able to claim to be the love of my life, my girlfriend or my wife."

She gave him a watery smile and kissed him deeply.

Harry continued, "I only hope that you accept my story as easily as you are doing now. If you do not it will be difficult to convince you and I am afraid that I may lose you."

"Oh! I will believe you, even when I met you, you always held some respect in my mind and my heart was wishing for you to notice me. If you explain everything to me in detail I will understand. If it will help you I will tell you some incidents from my childhood that will convince me."

She began narrating a few incidents that happened in her primary school in between sharing lingering passionate kisses with Harry. She was undeterred by his earlier protests and started to loosen the buttons on his shirt trying to get him to make love to her. Harry tried to protest but even he knew that his attempts at dissuading her were only half-hearted. They began undressing each other while kissing all the way. When they were fully undressed, the couch they were sitting on morphed to a very large and comfortable bed.

"It is the first time for me too Hermione, I am sorry if I disappoint you. Whatever may happen please do not laugh at me."

She kissed him softly this time assuring him, "We will learn together." Then with a sly smile she said, "We have the entire evening and the night too for a lot of practice."

With Hermione prone on the bed, Harry moved to position himself with his head between her legs and began working on her with his mouth and fingers as Hermione guided him. Hermione moved her legs wide to give him better access and began squirming and squealing in passion and succumbed to the intense sensation.

Harry was delighted that he was able to give pleasure to Hermione and make her orgasm and at Hermione's urging slowly entered her. His delight turned to concern after hearing a sharp hiss of pain from Hermione and that caused him to lose control and immediately empty into her.

Harry was embarrassed, but his embarrassment vanished seeing the pain etched on Hermione's face. He propped himself up on his fore arms taking his weight off Hermione and kissed her softy while apologizing profusely.

Even through the pain Hermione managed to softy chuckle at Harry's predicament. "You promised not to laugh" Harry muttered indignantly. That only increased Hermione's laughter. Harry could see the humor in the situation but that does not mean he was going to accept it.

Harry moved to lie on his back beside Hermione and dragged her to him. Hermione snuggled into his side with her head perched on his chest; they relaxed and began planning the steps they needed to take to ensure that the same mistakes will not be repeated again or made worse.

After about half an hour of planning, Harry used a pain numbing charm to lessen Hermione's pain. Even though Hermione was chuckling at his enthusiasm, she secretly admitted to herself that she was also eagerly looking forward to the experience. They did not bother with any contraception as Hermione knew that her current form will not survive for long and if that did not happen, carrying Harry's baby is certainly nothing to be concerned about. This time their love making was everything that they imagined and gave Hermione as much pleasure as to Harry. They made love multiple times that evening resting in between to get their strength back, satisfying their hunger and desire for each other, before finally falling asleep late into the night with bodies entwined.


	2. Chapter Two: Resurrection

**Declaration: ****I write for my own pleasure and not for profit. I do not own Harry Potter Universe.**

**Chapter Two: Resurrection**

Harry woke up with a feeling of euphoria which was missing for a long time in his life. Making love to Hermione was an exquisite experience which he was willing to repeat as long as they both lived and as often as Hermione was willing. On the very short list of pleasant experiences in his life, last night rated high enough to even surpass the feeling he got every time he flew on his broom. He was now sure that they would get married soon after they graduate if not immediately. He stretched himself relaxing the kinks in his muscles and looked to his side for Hermione, but found that he was alone on the bed, a bed which was suspiciously familiar.

'Maybe she woke up early and went to her dorm room to face the day' Harry thought looking for the window before he realized that he was in the Room of Requirement and he could not see outside the room. Glancing down at himself he saw that he was fully clothed in his pyjamas, that he did not remember putting on and he was in a younger body. Realization struck him that time has been turned back, he was in the Gryffindor dorm room and he was now the re-incarnation of 'death' as fate revealed to him. The self-updating clock on his bedside table glowing in the dark proclaimed that it was 6 AM on Friday, November 1st 1991.

'The day after Halloween' Harry breathed in amazement. 'Yesterday was the day when Hermione was attacked by the Troll in the bathroom. The day our friendship started.' He looked around the dorm room to see his year mates sleeping peacefully and Ron was in his bed next to him. He lent back onto his pillow and began thinking about the chance to set things right. He realized that he was feeling better, actually much better than ever, he corrected himself. He remembered the dream, where he as death, confronted the soul piece belonging to Voldemort that was lodged in him and sent it on to the afterlife. He now understood that it was not a dream at all.

He was not worried at being the one who has to 'kill' people in order to restore balance; he was after all just an instrument of fate. He just hoped that Hermione was not going to freak out and want nothing to do with him, without her he could not survive a life time of solitude.

Thinking about Hermione, his thoughts turned to the appalling behavior of Ron and to some extent even his own, towards her. He vowed to be a better friend to her and hoped that she will consent to be his girlfriend even after hearing his tale. 'I wonder if she would still want to be Ron's friend after the way his comments drove her away crying. I am not going to worry about it. I am not going to sit back and let another guy get a first chance at the best that Hogwarts has on its roll. I should in fact improve my scores in class tests and do better. I am now given a second chance and should take full advantage of it. Most of the things will be easy for me but that does not excuse my tardiness when it comes to school performance.'

His musings kept him busy most of the next hour which he spent in the shower and at getting ready for the day. Seeing that it is now time to head down to meet Hermione, as she is usually down in the common room by 7, he shook Ron awake and rushed out of the dorm.

As Harry predicted, Hermione was in the common room sitting on the couch and fidgeting nervously throwing occasional glances at the stairs to the boy's dorms. She hoped that she found two people who were willing to be her friends now. She saw Harry racing down the steps and come to a halt in front of her.

With a bright smile she greeted him, "Good Morning Harry."

"Morning Hermione, How are you feeling today? I hope that you were not hurt by the Troll?"

"No I am fine, no injuries at all. Thanks for asking Harry" she replied with a shy smile, glad that someone was looking out for her.

"I am sorry Hermione; I should have stopped Ron from saying hurtful things to you. I promise that I will be a better friend to you from now on." Hermione was shocked hearing the sincere apology from Harry. She did not consider it to be Harry's fault even for one bit, but was still thankful for his apology.

"No need for the apology Harry, it was not you that drove me to tears. I should be thanking you for saving my life" she gave him a quick hug which left her blushing madly.

Recovering from the awkward silence that followed, Harry asked if she wanted to head down for breakfast. Giving her a negative shake of his head regarding Ron, Harry remarked, "I just woke Ron up before coming down. I seriously doubt that he will make it in time for breakfast. I should not keep you waiting for him, if you want we can wait but I am hungry and I can guess that you are too. If he wants breakfast, Ron should be getting ready earlier." With that he led the way down to the great hall and breakfast.

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It was very difficult for Harry to pay attention to the classes as he was bursting with nervous energy. He could not wait to talk to Hermione, and at the same time he was worried about her reaction. He so desperately wanted her to accept his tale and still be willing to get close to him. His only relief was the knowledge that 'fate' specifically told him that he would be spending his life with his love beside him. Judging by fate's assurance, he was sure that Hermione would accept being his girlfriend but that still did not give him any peace of mind.

The whole day Harry was attentive to Hermione, sitting with her during the classes and accompanying her to the library. He hovered around her without being obvious or obnoxious. Harry was also careful to shield her from Ron's casual comments which though have lost most of the sting, were still hurtful to her. Hermione was thankful for Harry's efforts and managed to voice it a couple of times through the day. Thankfully for Harry, it was only one day before the weekend when he could get everything off his chest and really begin his relationship with Hermione.

The next day Harry and Hermione headed off for breakfast together again by mutual arrangement, and since it was a Saturday Ron was not the only one who was still in bed. Filling their stomachs Harry led her to the unused seventh floor corridor and despite Hermione's incessant questions managed to evade explaining his motives for the trek. A bemused Hermione entered the same room that Harry used for his final talk with Hermione in the previous timeline; 'it has worked for him once why not again?' Sitting on the couch which materialized in front of her, Hermione was spoilt for choice of questions but she settled for one regarding the room.

Hearing Harry's explanation, she was led into the next question, "How do you know about this room Harry? Nothing like this was written in 'Hogwarts: a History'."

This was the perfect opening for Harry, "That question is one of the many ones that you will have by the end of the day. Hermione, what I am going to tell you may seem to be totally preposterous but I swear that I am telling the truth."

With an opening statement like that any judge would have wanted to either throw the lawyer out of the court or give him his chance to explain the statement. Suitably intrigued Hermione waited for the explanation.

"There is a prophecy in effect Hermione, which pits me against Lord Voldemort. The prophecy states that Voldemort can only be killed by my hand and even though I banished him from this world ten years ago, he is not dead yet. He still survives albeit without a body either by possessing people or animals." Hermione was nodding at suitable places but was horrified by the prospect that her friend had to kill the vilest person alive on earth. She was not sure if Harry could do it, or 'is he a highly trained killing machine and is now going to tell me about it' she mused.

Harry's thoughts were more about selling the part he was going to say next to Hermione, "Seven years from now, you and I along with some help managed to kill Voldemort. The price however was too high, a lot of people died, people who were good and had a part to play in the war, people who were no more than innocent by standers."

Hermione was more than confused especially by the play of the words 'seven years from now'; 'managed to kill' were only some that had her mind spinning. It was good that Harry gave her some time to process what she heard otherwise she would not have understood anything that he would have said after that. "Are you some kind of a seer Harry?"

"No Hermione, I am no seer, but I have already lived the seven years that finally led to Voldemort's death."

This was even murkier than mud for Hermione, "So you are from the future?" she managed to get the words, which somehow were lodged in her throat, out of her mouth.

Harry frowned briefly, "Not really, the time that I came from no longer exists now. The moment I came back, that world, its people and that time ceased to exist. We can only say that I lived an extra seven years and have a general idea of what happens in those years."

"Only a general idea?" all her reading has not prepared her for the idea of time travel. Oh there are lots of books for sure, that talk about it but she did not deign herself to read fiction! Even the few facts she knew talked about two different people running about, not one. She was sure that there is only one Harry in existence inside Hogwarts and now he says that he lived the future and was not sure about the future. Talk about a contradiction.

"Yeah! Coming back in time itself has changed the timeline and even my small actions now will have a ripple effect to make the future that I know unrecognizable."

This she could understand. Cause and effect was all logical and could see the truth in the statement.

With that Harry began the tale of their friendship and the six years spent at Hogwarts learning things which were still woefully inadequate to survive the year they spent hunting for Voldemort's horcruxes. He did not try to blemish the events giving credit due where it was but only tried to downplay her insecurities regarding her love life which almost led her to settle for Ron as a boyfriend. He wanted her to be his girlfriend and highlighting her failures was definitely the way to go about it.

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The task took up most of the morning and Harry was hungry again by the time it ended. The room provided their lunch on his request and so they continued to talk through it without a break.

"I want to believe you Harry. I really do but even you have to admit that it is quite a tale."

Harry chuckled softly, the first time since he started the grim tale, "You gave me a couple of examples that you said will convince you. You decided to leave Hogwarts and go back home because you were as alone here as you were at your primary school and for that I am sorry. You felt that at least at your old school you have your parents to go back to, here you are left to cry alone." Hermione could see the genuine regret in his words while he was talking about it.

Taking Hermione's small hands in his he continued in a voice laced with emotion, "It was only my actions to save you from the Troll that convinced you to stay and help me out; you wanted to stay with me and help with my troubles. I have to say that you did a splendid job and it is only because of you that I survived through the years and for that only I am indebted to you." He raised her hand and kissed the back of her hand causing Hermione to blush prettily.

"The other thing you told me is that your first incident of accidental magic was not summoning a book like you told Professor McGonagall but changing the colour of your dress to lime green from a shocking pink." He gave her a broad smile at the self-conscious look Hermione had now. His voice faltered and he took a deep breath debating about saying the next thing that he knew would convince her but was also going to embarrass her at the same time.

Hermione caught his reluctance and was intrigued about what he wanted to say. She was almost convinced that what he said about his future knowledge was true, after all not even her parents know about her changing the colour of her dress. She assured him that she would not be offended by whatever he was going to say and so Harry reluctantly dropped the bomb shell, "you have a birthmark the size and shape of a rice grain on your right hip."

Hermione was not sure how to react to that statement though mortification was near the top. Harry's answer to her unasked question took it to a new height, "I know because the night that I was sent back in time was the night we made love, the first time for both of us." Now even Harry's face resembled that of a tomato.

"Made… Love" Hermione managed to squeak out.

To cover his red face Harry vigorously nodded his head, "we wanted to wait till we get married 'though we never thought that it will be with each other' he thought, but after learning that you may not live any long, you wanted to experience it. It was only two nights ago for me" he concluded while muttering "and we enjoyed it a lot" under his breath too low for Hermione to hear. That revelation brought some heavy silence to the discussion.

Regaining some measure of composure Hermione stated, "So you were my boyfriend."

Harry started to pour tea into two cups and began mixing sugar and milk for Hermione just the way she liked, an action that was not lost on Hermione. Taking a sip, she tried to get things back on track and so Hermione asked, "Tell me about you being the re-incarnation of death."

Thankful for the change in topic Harry started with the tale of the three brothers. "There is a legend about three brothers, the Peverell brothers, who encountered 'death' during their journeys many centuries ago. They wanted to cheat death and be immortal. The first brother asked for an unbeatable wand and death transfigures a stick to give him. The second brother lost his wife and so wanted to be with her always, death gave him a stone that can call spirits back from the afterlife. The third brother was the cleverest of all, he asked that death should not be able to see him and death grudgingly gives his own cloak to him, the cloak of invisibility."

Hermione was an avid listener nodding at all the right places and gasping at the audacity of the brothers who wanted to cheat death. Getting her nod of understanding Harry continued, "This is told as a fairy tale to kids about how not to live your life and that it is impossible to cheat death. What is not known however is the nature of the articles that death gave the three brothers, called the 'Deathly Hallows'. The unbeatable wand was death's own wand, the 'Elder wand' or the 'wand of destiny'. The stone that he gave the second brother is the 'resurrection stone' with which death can call all the souls for judgment and the cloak is the true cloak of invisibility which allows him to move undetected."

"So the Deathly Hallows really exists?"

"Yes and since death lost the Hallows to humans, he lost his job, so to speak. They were never to be separated, if only one of the brothers had all the three Hallows he would have been the next 'death'. Not having 'death' around to do his job threw the balance between good and bad in jeopardy. 'Bad' souls began to evade death and cause destruction and death of 'good' souls. From that time onwards a lot of good people lost their lives before their due time and a lot of bad guys survived causing destruction."

Seeing that Hermione was not totally convinced Harry said, "Think about all the dark lords throughout history, they were more frequent during the last few centuries. What about the wars in the non-magical world? The perpetuators would have been dealt with swiftly by 'death' if he was in existence, but he was not there for the last few centuries because of the Peverell brothers."

Hermione took a while to process the information and had to admit that Harry's words were true. "Alright I can agree to what you are saying and since you were able to reunite the Hallows you were given the mantle of death?"

Harry breathed a sigh of relief at Hermione's acceptance, "Yes, not only that there were a few other factors as well. You remember the prophecy I told you?" Hermione nodded at that and so Harry continued, "When Voldemort tried to kill me that Halloween night, fate intervened to ensure that the 'prophesied one' stayed alive to end the reign of terror forever. Fate told me that bearing the responsibility of 'death' was the payment for that action and also I am the last of the Peverell line. I am here to atone for my forefathers."

"Oh! I am sorry about that" Hermione said sympathetically. "Do you know what happened to the three brothers?" she asked unable to contain her curiosity.

"The wand is unbeatable so his enemy stabbed the first brother in the back. The second brother's wife was not really alive even when she was summoned back. She was after all a spirit so the second brother was consumed by guilt and became insane before killing himself. The third brother lived the longest and when he was finally tired of his life he gave the cloak of invisibility to his son and embraced his death with a smile. The cloak was thus passed from father to son and now belongs to me."

Hermione was excited, "Can I see it?"

"Unfortunately not right now, Dumbledore wants to control all the three Hallows so he has the cloak with him. He will give it to me as a Christmas present only because he was forced to give a vow to my father to return the cloak back to him or to his children. He won the wand from Grindelwald and is actively looking for the stone. The stone was what led to his death in the previous timeline something which I want to prevent this time."

"I can call them to me whenever I want but right now since Dumbledore has two of the three, I want to wait till he gives me the cloak. I do not want to alert him or for that matter anyone else to the fact that I am now in control of the three Hallows."

It was a pensive Hermione who asked, "Can you live with the knowledge that you are essentially taking the lives of many people? Besides what gives you the right to decide who lives and who does not?"

Harry chuckled softly, "Even your older self asked me the same question, though I think it was more to see if I understood the implications of being the master of death rather than challenge me." He gently chided her.

Hermione was embarrassed at assuming the worst about Harry but he assured her, "Don't be sorry for asking Hermione, it is what I love about you. You have to only loosen up just a little bit, just remember that you cannot assume that you are the only one who knows everything" he gave her a disarming grin and squeezed her hand. Sufficiently placated Hermione gave him a dazzling smile.

Unmindful of the interruption, Harry continued "I am not the one who decides the lifespan of people and who lives and who does not. I am just a facilitator for fate and a dispenser of justice."

Giving a mirthless chuckle, Harry continued "They say your actions speak louder than words, your actions and more importantly the reasons behind those actions are the 'judge'. The 'jury' is what your role in the world is, is your continued living of consequence to the world? It does not matter if your family benefits, but what does the whole world get out of your existence, that is the important factor. I have the power or ability to call up the souls whose existence has been cut short and give them a chance either to continue in the land of living or head on to the afterlife."

"So there is some sort of judgment then and what about the people who do harm to the others? If any judgment happens only after they are dead then people will continue to harm others and not change at all" Hermione wanted to know, allowing a bit of passion into her voice.

Harry gave her a warm smile, this was the Hermione who he knew and who he fell in love with. One who came out of the books and was willing to show her emotions, one who was openly compassionate to others. "Oh, there is much more than that for sure. My job is to ensure that such people have a very short life. I cannot openly influence people's actions or thoughts but can definitely make sure that people who make it a point to kill or deliberately harm others suffer from a case of early death. Removing them for the general population makes wonders for the others who tend to follow their less than sterling examples."

"What about the afterlife?"

"There is reward and then there is punishment. Good people or those who have been affected by others find a pleasant existence there, what we metaphorically call heaven, or a chance to come back, albeit as a totally different life without any of the previous memories. The others will have no chance for life and are condemned to a pitiful existence or hell."

They both fell silent after that as it was a lot for Hermione to take in. Most of the concepts of afterlife and judging you after your death by your actions when you live were suspiciously like what were written in many mythologies and what most muggles base their lives upon. The concept of someone judging you for your actions was also quite common; she was also comfortable with the idea of a man in charge of a few destinies. She was very well used to the bible and the son of god roaming the earth correcting the mistakes of people. She had a sudden realization that the power Harry has almost makes him god like and the idea sent a thrill down her spine.

The silent contemplation occurring in Hermione's mind however was throwing Harry into a myriad of emotions nervousness being the foremost with fear a close second. By now he accepted the destiny thrown at him by fate and was actually looking forward for it, but what he was not looking for was spending that time without Hermione's constant presence and support. He feared that Hermione would be revolted by his being 'death'. 'What if she does not want anything to do with me? How do I survive an eternity without my love?' were the questions driving his anxious emotions.

Hermione however did not even allude to his destiny as a point to be worried about. Harry was very much relieved when she took it her stride, "In the short time that I have known you and from you r tale, you are the most unselfish, moral, and kind hearted person that I know, heck probably anywhere. You put others before yourself, your actions in saving me from the Troll says that. Your moral values will not allow you to tread the wrong path. That is why this responsibility has been given to you, 'fate' is certain that you will not be corrupted by the power."

All this was delivered with a passion that was not new for that Hermione whom he knew in the future, who was ready to fight for House elf rights and opposed pureblood bigotry, the one he loved. The ringing endorsement left any fears he had about losing his love unfound.

"You obviously knew me or probably know me well, well enough that we were lovers." Harry let out a chuckle at that statement, but it was more in relief than mirth. Hermione still not used to Harry's mannerisms where she could identify each and every emotion correctly without words, it would still take her some time to get to that point yet, shot him a glare which silenced him immediately.

"As I was saying, I would like to get to know you, again, before we take it any further. Let's try at being friends" she continued with a smile, "good friends before we get to the point of being lovers later" she said with a small blush, an embarrassed smile gracing her face.

"I can live with that and I promise you that I will treat you like you deserve this time around" Harry immediately stood and grabbed her in a bear hug lifting her out of the couch, relief pouring out of him drowning the tension and fear of rejection.

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Settling down again this time with Hermione leaning into him and Harry's arm around her waist pulling her into him, he began outlining the plan to take Voldemort and his horcruxes down along with his minions. Hermione much to her chagrin could not find any fault in the plan before Harry reminded her that it was a much more experienced Hermione who refined his basic plan.

"Hermione, there are people like Snape and Dumbledore who can read your thoughts and probe your thoughts and memories in depth if they want to." Hermione gasped at feeling violated, her most intimate thoughts lying bare to 'old men' killed any reprimand she was going to voice at Harry's lack of use of any honorifics. Hearing how the 'old coot' left them both in the lurch and their struggles to get all the horcruxes left little respect for the headmaster, with this inside information even that crashed and left to burn.

Thoughts of perverted old men doing it to hormonal teenagers in their care left her seething. Harry's question of "do you trust me?" jolted her out of such uncharacteristic thoughts. "You are probably the only one that I trust in this castle Harry" was all the encouragement he needed.

Holding her head steady in his hands, he was tempted to run feel her soft cheeks but instead concentrating on the task ahead stared into her eyes. Hermione felt something 'click' in place and left her a little disoriented. Harry steadied her by grabbing her in his arms, "I put up a protection on your mind which will not allow anyone to access your thoughts and memories without your express permission. If someone tried to read you, they will be left dizzy with all the facts and snippets of information racing through your beautiful mind" Harry could not help dropping such lavish compliments, he so liked to see Hermione blush, it brought a wonderful colour to her cheeks and he loved it.

Getting a hold on her thoughts which seemed to run away with Harry's hands on her cheeks and being in his arms, Hermione wanted to know, "What about Ron?" she could sense that Harry was not particularly happy with him. How can he be, in retrospection, Harry gave him more than a few chances to correct his behavior, certainly more than Ron deserved. Hermione felt that Ron abandoning them at the height of their troubles in the tent was a capital offense. She was not sure if she would have forgiven him that easily as her other self and Harry did, but then they spent six years together with him.

"I am not going to influence you Hermione. You have as much chance of liking him as hexing him to next week. You would be happy making your own decision based on your interactions with him. I will not go actively seeking his friendship this time around but I will support you in whatever you want" Harry's answer brought a smile to her face; this is how a relationship should work. With a quick peck on his cheek, Hermione raised herself form the couch laughing and pulled a slightly groggy Harry who had a goofy grin on his face, along with her.

They exited the wonderful room in remarkably high spirits and began walking towards the great hall. It was nearly time for dinner and they have been missing for a very long time.

Walking down one of the empty corridors on their way, Hermione could no longer contain her curiosity, "So how was the experience Harry?" she paused and at Harry's questioning look she stuttered with a rising blush colouring her face, "Our love making, how was it?"

A huge smile lit up Harry's face and he immediately gushed, "It was brilliant. I cannot wait to do it again with you." Hermione was mortified and seeing this Harry amended, "maybe we will wait till we get married this time."

Hermione could only nod her head in relief.


	3. Chapter Three: Taking charge

**Declaration: ****I write for my own pleasure and not for profit. I do not own Harry Potter Universe.**

**Chapter Three: Taking charge**

The days following Harry's revelation were filled with easy banter and light hearted fun between Harry and Hermione. Though initially shocked after knowing that Harry had lived at least 7 years more, she was happy that she played an important role in his life, important enough for her to be his girlfriend. The knowledge that Harry will always be there for her was like a balm to her insecure heart and allowed her to enjoy her stay at Hogwarts much better than the first two months. She now had someone to share her thoughts and desires with, and Harry made a conscious effort to acknowledge the very big part that Hermione played in his life whenever he could. His knowledge about magic far exceeded even that of the professors in the school thought that fact was known only to Hermione. She took full advantage of the situation and began learning all that Harry could teach her.

Course work came easy to both of them and they took care to include anyone willing to study with them. Their willingness to give up their free time for the sake of helping their friends meant that quidditch practice and games were the only time that either Harry or Hermione could totally forget their books and relax. This was not difficult for them as Hermione lost most of her seriousness and even made sure that they relaxed for brief periods in between bouts of intense study.

Neville Longbottom joined them often in their study sessions thankful for their help in practicing the different spells. He was quick to understand the theory but the practical aspect of casting the spells was proving difficult for him.

Hermione was quick to spot this and raised it with Harry, "Do you know why Neville has trouble with spell casting? Is it a problem with his confidence or does he really have low magical potential?"

Harry of course knew what the problem was, "Oh he is powerful enough Hermione, the problem is that his wand is not matched to him. It is his father's wand and because of that he is having problem channeling his magic properly. That in turn is causing him to lose confidence in his ability. Last time it took for him to break his wand to really bring out his true potential. I do not know what to do to help him without giving out my secret."

"Even with all the future knowledge, there are some aspects to life that are best left alone, only time can take care of them. May be we can introduce him to a book about wands and leave it to him to find the problem?"

Harry gave her a hug and a quick peck on her cheek, "That is the best idea yet, let's look in the library for one."

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More often than not Harry managed to bring out the hidden playful side of Hermione during their study sessions whenever she started to get too serious to annoy others who were seldom used to her intensity for learning. It also helped that Hermione was secure about having a steady friend and hopefully something more pretty soon, in Harry. His constant presence at her side had a tempering effect on her exuberance taking away the need to show the world her superior knowledge and prove herself. Even her willingness to allow others to answer questions in their classes helped others to relax around her and if no one else knew the answer she and Harry were of course there to earn points for Gryffindor.

This change actually had the desired effect on the rest of the Gryffindor first years, gone away was the annoying know-it -all Granger and in her place was a much more relaxed Hermione. They soon saw that learning need not be a dull bore, it could be fun too and there was always help in the form of Harry and Hermione available to them. The close knit group of first year Gryffindors began to be the envy of the entire school.

Hermione never felt so happy than the day Lavender Brown approached her for homework help and in exchange gave her a hair lotion to tame her eternally errant hair.

The only sour note in Harry's and Hermione's near perfect world was Ron who was ingrained with the opinion that studying was only for passing the exams and so should only be done before the exams. With Harry determined to do better with his grades and his constant studying, Ron lost the one source of pastime. Hermione began to get annoyed by Ron's constant bickering as he tried to take his anger regarding Harry out on her.

"You are spending more and more time with her Harry" Ron accused him one day.

"Yes Ron I need to study and get good grades, we did not even know how to stop the Troll on Halloween. Hermione could have been killed" Harry tried to explain patiently.

"But we are just first years, how can we stop a Troll?" Ron protested.

"Yes we are first years Ron but that did not stop Hermione from reminding you about the levitation charm. I want to do the best I can and make my parents proud of me wherever they are."

Ron was torn between the truth in Harry's words and slacking off. But that decision was made easy by Seamus came down from the dorm just then and asked Ron for a game of chess. That was all Ron needed to end any thought about studying.

Hermione was proud of the way that Harry defended her and could not help feeling dismay at Ron's attitude. She was now sure that Harry made the right decision about not getting too involved with Ron and going out of his way to please him. Being free from his influence may be the best thing for them both and now the only thing left for her is to accept Harry's proposal of spending their life together, which in her opinion was a forgone conclusion.

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Harry agreed to spend Christmas with Hermione at her house, meeting her parents was a necessary evil that had to be done. He wanted to marry Hermione eventually; this was a chance to impress the Grangers and also give them a chance to get to know him better.

Getting out of the train Harry was impressed by the ease with which Hermione's parents accepted him as a friend of Hermione. Both her mother and father suspected that it was not just friendship that brought harry to their house; they just wondered how long it was going to take Hermione to announce what they allowed to be happy news. Hermione's father wanted to rage at the boy who dared to capture her daughter's heart, but how could he be angry at someone who made his bookish princess laugh even if it was a boy?

They were surprised that Hermione did not open even a single book from the time she came home and it was all because of Harry's influence. They also knew about his polite and helpful nature, and his vast fortune also made it all good in their view, not that they were influenced by it but were happy that their daughter's future was secure should she choose to marry Harry.

Christmas morning brought much cheer to the Granger household. It was also the first time that Harry enjoyed a Christmas after Sirius' death in his fifth year, more than two eventful years passed in between. He had little to be happy about in those two years and now with nothing to worry about regarding his future and Hermione by his side, he was determined to enjoy the day to the maximum.

Harry bought a couple of stylish robes for both the elder Grangers to enable them to move freely in the wizarding world where they often felt insecure and left out. He debated about buying a lavish gift for Hermione but eventually decided that it was too much too soon and he also did not want to shock his hosts.

He gifted Hermione with a book about 'wizarding customs and etiquette for the lady of the house' and a heart shaped locket made of gold on a braided golden chain, nothing expensive but both gifts hinting at a future Lady Potter. Clasping the chain around Hermione's neck, Harry got a quick nod of approval from Hermione's father, a gesture which alleviated most of Harry's fears.

The highlight of the day however was the cloak of true invisibility that Dumbledore sent him. Harry was a little anxious that Dumbledore may not give him the cloak but knew that he would be forced by the oath he gave his father. Not that he was bothered by it; he could always call it to him whenever he wanted.

"This is my family heirloom and has been in my family for many centuries" he told the three Grangers who were clearly in awe at the cloak. Hermione could now see the reality of what Harry was alluding to and brought home his destiny and by associating with him hers too. She took his hand in hers and gave it a gentle squeeze supporting his destiny and her decision to be his life partner.

Wearing the cloak, Hermione's father was like a kid in a candy store revealing himself in the most unlikely of places and scaring the daylights out of his wife and daughter. 'Yes' Harry decided it was 'the best Christmas ever.'

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The next two days were spent in visiting places of interest and generally having fun. The two elder Grangers had to attend their clinic for two days before the New Year after which they chose to close their practice to be with Hermione until she went back to Hogwarts. Harry decided to put his plan to reclaim the Hallows in motion during their absence.

He knew that the resurrection stone was currently under heavy protective wards put there by Voldemort and he could not summon it. He called the Elder wand to him and Hermione gave a yelp of surprise to see the wand materializing in his hand. Getting a nod in reply to her unasked request for permission, she took the wand in her hands and reverently ran her finger along the length. She now had the fabled unbeatable wand in her hands but surprisingly, did not feel much different to her.

"You have to win the wand in a duel or by beating the owner for it to give its allegiance to you" Harry reminded her. "Since I am already the true owner of all the Hallows, you cannot get the wand to work for you as good as your own wand."

Since the wand is untraceable, he used it to remove the ministerial tracking charms from both his and Hermione's wands. Not that he needed a wand to do magic, he was now proficient in wandless casting, but now even Hermione can do magic in her house and if needed defend herself without the ministry breathing down her neck.

During the previous timeline he always felt that Dumbledore could sense him even under the invisibility cloak which did not make any sense to him, if this was really the cloak of invisibility, then that should not be possible. Acting on a hunch Harry ran the elder wand over the cloak. Chuckling at the results, "That old coot!" he exclaimed. "Dumbledore put a tracking charm on it and also a charm that will project a faint aura whenever someone wears the cloak. I think that he has a means to detect the aura; it always made me wonder how he was able to see through the cloak. It is nothing more than a trick to track me." He immediately transferred the tracking charm onto his trunk and dispelled the aura charm.

"Are you ready Hermione? You can back away if you want and I will not think any less of you."

Hermione took a deep fortifying breath and answered, "Harry I promised to be with you for eternity and that includes any dangerous situations. I am ready."

Harry grabbed her in a hug and they both disappeared before appearing in front of the Gaunts' shack in Little Hangleton.

"This is the place where Voldemort's mother lived" and pointing to a rundown Manor a little distance away continued, "That is the Riddle Manor, it belonged to Voldemort's father, a muggle."

Hermione could not help but wonder at the irony of a Halfblood dark lord trying to cleanse the wizarding world of everyone having impure blood. No matter how many times she heard the story, it always brought home the foolishness of the wizarding world's elite in allowing such bigotry to exist.

She was brought out of her musings by Harry opening the door to the shack and she followed him in while listening to Harry's explanation, "The resurrection stone was set in a ring that was in Voldemort's family for many generations. Thankfully Voldemort did not know the significance of the stone, if he believed that the Hallows existed, he would have tried to gain control of them. There is no concrete evidence but it is possible that the Gaunts' were descendants of the second of the Peverell brothers. Voldemort is also the last living descendent of Salazar Slytherin just like I am the last living descendent of Godric Gryffindor."

Harry led her to the spot where the ring was buried under the floor boards and even through the wood Hermione could feel the magic. Unlike the many times when she felt a thrill of pleasure in presence of lots of magic, this feeling was one of dread and she was very uncomfortable. She attributed the feeling to the presence of a horcrux which Harry explained to her as being the means for Voldemort's near immortality.

With a lazy wave of his hand, Harry removed all the protections guarding the ring, all except the horcrux, and called the ring to him. When all the Hallows were united again, Harry changed into the classic persona which most people equate with the 'Grim Reaper', only the wand in his hand in place of a scythe was the difference. The heavy cloak was completely covering his six feet height and with the hood up his face was lost to darkness. It looked as if there was a gaping hole instead of a face. He could will himself to become invisible and at other times the invisibility cloak draping him was just an ordinary cloak.

Surprising even him, the sword of Gryffindor sheathed in its jewel encrusted scabbard, materialized on Harry's hip. The sword choosing to return to its true owner at last.

Even with the blackish aura surrounding him and the enormous amount of power pouring out of Harry's persona of 'death', Hermione never felt safer. She felt as if she was a part of Harry, a part of the never ending cosmic events, not a spectator, she finally felt complete.

Harry willed himself back into his eleven year old form and thinking that she was frightened hugged Hermione. Hermione however was elated and from within his arms exclaimed, "I could feel your power Harry. I felt as if I was a part of you, like I was the other half of your soul. I have no hesitation in believing that I am truly your life partner, your soul mate for all eternity."

Harry was relieved, his biggest fear, the fear of rejection was now a non-issue. He was glad that 'fate' delivered on its promise, not that he openly doubted it, but he was not used to his dreams and aspirations bearing fruit. He tightened his arms around her and reveled in the feeling of contentment.

Hermione's elation however did not last long as the air around them began to get cold and her breath began to come out as a mist. Her heart began to fill with despair and all feeling of happiness was being sucked out of her. Even in the broad daylight she felt the darkness creeping in upon her. She was not prepared to see the three creatures, which she recognized as dementors by their description, suddenly appear in front of them.

Only the presence of Harry beside her prevented her from screaming out upon seeing the dementors. When Harry wrapped his arm around Hermione's waist the dementor's power to induce despair in humans no longer worked on Hermione, she was their mistress for her to command.

The lead dementor began to speak in a language that no human has ever heard; Harry cast a translation charm on Hermione for her benefit, "Greetings Immortal one. I am the chieftain of all the creatures you call dementors, I am called Twern. I am here to follow your commands." The other two held themselves back giving the impression that they were waiting on their chieftain.

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What are called dementors on earth were actually from a different dimension. In their world they were a noble race called 'Venustas', they were nearly nine feet tall and stately built. Their features were perfectly chiseled and exuding an unearthly beauty, they were the embodiments of poise and grace. Added to this a sharp mind and intelligence that allowed them to dominate their world; they were the perfect beings to create utopia on their world.

The power over other beings of their world gradually pushed the Venustas towards cruelty and instead of protecting the other beings they swore to defend, began to abuse them. Torturing them for their own pleasure and killing them in the name of sacrifices, they gradually began turning their perfect world into one that bred resentment and revenge. They lost the respect of all the inhabitants of their world and when 'fate' finally chose to end their existence, begged for atonement.

When the last 'death' lost the Hallows and earth was forced into troubled times, 'fate' chose to send the Venustas to earth. Their own souls were kept captive and the dementors were born. The once noble race was relegated to the role of scavengers on earth, sucking out the souls of all the sinful people. As part of their atonement, the dementors were forced to endure all the horrors the innocent victims of the condemned souls they sucked out, had faced themselves.

The dementors were to wait for the next 'death' who would free them of their curse and allow them to return back to their own world and their former glory.

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All this information was implanted directly into Hermione's mind and she understood the plight of the dementors. Even with the best of intentions, too much power can corrupt anyone; they were to be sympathized for their plight not feared. The wizarding world needs to learn their story and take heed that their current actions to demean other magical beings do have grave consequences.

"Greetings Twern" Harry returned. "I promise to release you from your plight, but ask you to wait for one last duty. There are a lot of souls who have escaped justice from human hands; they however are condemned to the pits of hell. I ask for your assistance in removing all the marked death eaters from their unjust existence. Be patient till you hear my call" Harry told him.

"As my lord commands."

"Oh! There is one prisoner in Azkaban, who is innocent of all crimes and is locked there. I command you to leave him alone, I will need time to prove his innocence and plan his release."

"We are aware of his innocence my lord and took steps to minimize our presence near him. He has nothing to fear from us" Twern commented. He gestured at his assistants, Harry thought was meant for them to take note not to bother Sirius.

"I have one last command for you today; Lucius Malfoy has a diary which hosts a part of Tom Riddle's soul. I need it to destroy the dark lord once and for all."

Twern turned to one of the dementors who vanished and immediately returned with the diary clutched in his long bony fingers. Twern hissed at the diary, "It reeks of a tainted soul my Lord. I can sense only a part of his soul, how many more of such abominations are present your Grace?"

"There are three more excluding the ring I have in my hand, the goblins have one of them hidden in their domain unknown to them" Harry replied and waving his hand in an intricate gesture extracted the fragment of soul from the ring and transferred it into the diary. The dementors chanted in tune with Harry binding the two pieces together in the diary. The ring and the resurrection stone set in it were left intact. Harry was required to repeat the process with the other three horcruxes also to bind all the pieces together, except the one currently in Voldemort.

Agreeing to come to Harry's assistance when called, the dementors bowed one last time to their master and mistress before disappearing and return to Azkaban.

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Willing the Hallows and the Sword of Gryffindor away, Harry took Hermione's hand before returning back to her house. Since it was still an hour or so away from darkness, they decided to take a stroll in the park near her house to get the 'romantic' outing with a couple of soul suckers out of their mind.

Hermione remembered Twern's comment about Harry being immortal. Harry confirmed her suspicion, especially about not being killed by mortals and also being able to choose when he can stop living and pass on.

"Where does that leave me Harry?" Hermione asked the beginnings of despair creeping into her voice.

Harry being unwilling to meet Hagrid's baby dragon, did not visit his hut with Hermione when the egg was hatching. He did drop a hint with the Weasley twins who managed to smuggle it away with their brother Charlie's help. Unfortunately, this meant that Hermione knew nothing about Fluffy and Nicolas Flamell.

"Hermione do you remember what Professor Dumbledore said at the opening feast about the third floor corridor being out of bounds" Harry decided to drop a hint and let Hermione work it out. He was not worried about it, he was sure that it would not take Hermione long.

"Yes I did wonder about that. Is there something hidden there?"

Harry nodded at her assumption, "I will give you a hint. It was developed by Nicolas Flamell and is being sought actively by Voldemort."

He was not disappointed, after a few moments of intense thought she gasped, "It cannot be" and dragging him back into the house, rushed to her room coming back with a familiar book. Harry could not contain his amusement and burst out laughing hard.

Hermione however was not pleased. Harry raised his hands in surrender and in a teasing tone asked, "Some light reading?"

Hermione blushed and muttering about 'insane time travellers' turned the page to a description of the Philosopher's Stone.

Reading the description about the stone Hermione turned to Harry who began describing the various obstacles that were keeping people away from the stone. "I do not know if it was an enticement for Voldemort, a test for me or genuinely Dumbledore's idea for protections, but they were too easy for three first years" he concluded.

"I cannot believe that he hid a valuable object behind solvable traps and obstacles, that too after taking it out of a Gringotts vault."

"We will never know his true intentions unless we ask him"

Hermione could guess what Harry planned to do with the Philosopher's stone and quite frankly she was flattered that he would want her to use it for keeping him company for a life time. In this case it may even span many centuries "What about the Flamells Harry?"

That was the only sore point in his plan, but they could not very well approach him and ask for the stone, "I cannot feel sorry for him Hermione. He gave it away knowing fully that he may not get it back and the risk it carries. Think about what would happen if Voldemort did get his hands on it. I have no qualms in using it for a bigger purpose."

Hermione had no problems in agreeing to that logic and besides it was the only way she could live with an immortal and she would take it any way it comes.

Harry took a deep breath and with the most sincere look he could muster began, "You have been my best friend, my lover and conscience even. I do not have a choice but wield the Hallows and I will do the best to have you in my life for however long I live. I do not want to lose you; it is unimaginable for me to have an eternity without you in it. I hope that you will find me worthy of your love again."

Harry was now certain that it was time to take the step that would guarantee his happiness, "Will you be my girlfriend again Hermione and when the time is right my wife?"

"I do not want to lose a good thing too Harry. Yes, I will be more than your wife, I will happily be your life partner for all eternity" Hermione answered with love pouring out of her eyes.

Harry lifted her into his arms in a bridal carry and twirled a laughing Hermione around the room. Gently putting her down, they shared a sweet kiss, one of the many in their long lives.

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Meanwhile in Hogwarts castle, Dumbledore was flummoxed at the loss of the elder wand. He searched high and low for the wand but could see no wood or hair of the wand. His pride did not allow him to accept the possibility of someone breaking into his office and making away with the wand. He warded his office with the best protections that he could manage and there was no sign of anyone compromising them.

His thoughts briefly turned to the possibility of Lord Voldemort snatching the wand, he brought the philosopher's stone into the castle to try and lure him into the castle after all. He brushed them away; he would have detected the presence of Voldemort if he was present in the castle. He tried to think back about the time when he last used the Elder wand but came up with nothing.

Finally admitting defeat he pulled out his old wand from storage, the wand he bought from Ollivander when he first entered Hogwarts as an eleven year old.

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Very soon it was the last night for Harry's stay at the Grangers before returning to Hogwarts. Hermione's mother wanted one last favour, "Harry can I have a turn at your wonderful cloak?"

Hermione wanted to glare at her mother; she really tried but could not keep it up for long. She lost the battle and burst out laughing along with Harry who did not even make an attempt to hide his amusement.

Harry went to his room and summoned the cloak to him and handed it after returning back to the living room. Over all it was a relaxing time for Harry and it was a bonding experience for all of them while the elder Grangers invited the boy who will one day become their son-in-law into their hearts.

The days leading to their exams were spent in studying hard not only for their exams but also for a life after Hogwarts. Harry was far advanced compared to his peers and Hermione was gaining all the knowledge Harry had to impart to her at a rapid pace. Hermione never felt as accepted by her peers as she was at Hogwarts, not only because of their study sessions but also her willingness to take a joke about her study habits. The serious Hermione Granger was fast becoming a memory.

Most of the time Harry and Hermione spent in each other's company and they became inseparable. They openly acknowledged their relationship which also calmed Hermione's nerves by dissuading enthusiastic witches who wanted to catch Harry's eye. The rest of their Gryffindor year mates banded about the couple which also greatly helped calm Hermione. The only time they could be seen without the other was during the nights sleeping or in the short time it took to visit the loo during the day. Hermione was tempted to try to sleep in Harry's company for at least some nights, but they did not dare risk the wrath of their head of house.

Harry felt he was in control of the situation much better than the last time when it was mostly guess work regarding the horcruxes. Now he knew where the remaining three horcruxes were, getting Ravenclaw's Tiara was the easiest and Slytherin's locket was also within easy reach at 12 Grimmauld place. The only problem he could foresee was getting Hufflepuff's cup from Gringotts. He began formulating a schedule with his girlfriend/ fiancée's help to get the remaining horcruxes without raising any suspicions. He still kept practicing offensive spells and dueling with Hermione diligently, not only to get her better prepared but also to be prepared if things went south.

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He also began teaching Hermione wizarding customs, laws and pureblood philosophy. "Why do I need to know about all of this Harry?" Hermione wanted to know.

With a sly grin Harry answered, "We cannot have the Lady Potter ignorant of the world she is going to play an important in, can we?"

Hermione blushed prettily hearing that. Harry chuckled and embraced her tenderly before continuing with their lesson. Later, relaxing on the couch in the 'Room of Requirement' Harry told her, "My family also has a seat in the House of Lords, Hermione. This makes you a Lady even in the non-magical world and we will have a prominent role to play there too. We will need to keep abreast of the political situation in the muggle world and also learn proper etiquette."

Kissing her fiancé tenderly on his lips, Hermione snuggled into Harry's side and murmured, "Lady Gryffindor- Hermione Jane Potter has a nice ring to it." Burrowing further into his side Hermione refused to show him her bright red face.

* * *

><p>AN: The word 'Venustas' actually means 'Poise' in Latin


	4. Chapter Four: Retribution

**Declaration: ****I write for my own pleasure and not for profit. I do not own Harry Potter Universe.**

A/N: Thanks to dmn410 for pointing out a mistake in spelling wizengamot

**Chapter Four: Retribution**

The wizarding world was mostly at peace, when Voldemort was banished nearly ten years ago the world rejoiced. The opportunity provided by the peace, however tentative it may have been, should have been used to build a society where everyone was equal. Be it witches and wizards, Goblins or house elves, equal and fair treatment of all would have ensured that bigotry would be stamped out. Such a positive step would have had far reaching impact to make the world a safer place without the fear of any dark lords rising again.

Harry felt that Albus Dumbledore was in the perfect position to bring about such a change. Heading both the Wizengamot in Britain and the International council of Wizards, his words and actions would have had a very positive force to drive the change. Dumbledore always believed in second chances, and due to his actions or inaction many death eaters claimed to be under the imperious curse and escaped prosecution. With his penchant for the 'greater good' and giving a new lease of life to the guilty few, the safety and rights of the innocents was compromised.

Letting the death eaters go free was the latest of the many mistakes made by the people in charge, and now the wizarding world was left stagnant and even being dragged back into the Stone Age. The onus was now on Harry to correct the mistakes of the past.

Harry did not want to move against Voldemort's horcruxes immediately due to the need to avoid arousing his suspicions. Harry was not sure if Voldemort could detect any changes occurring to his soul pieces or his horcruxes.

Now it was a fine Sunday morning in the middle of May and Harry was ready to make the first move.

"Hermione I would be able to remain undetected but you are a different matter, entering into a vault without a goblin being present will trigger their alarms. I do not think that there will be active defenses but the goblins will be alerted."

With hands on her hips, Hermione threw him a glare, "You are not leaving me behind, Harry James Potter. I don't care what you do but I am coming along."

Harry gave it up as hopeless and grabbing her apparated directly into Bellatrix Lestrange's vault. Immediately they heard a bell clanging outside the vault probably alerting the goblins that one of their vaults has been breached.

Harry looked at her with exasperation, but Hermione just grinned at him unrepentant. Shaking his head ruefully, Harry levitated the gleaming cup that once belonged to Helga Hufflepuff, from a pile of other gold trinkets. Without laying a hand on it, he cancelled the 'Germino' and Flagrante' charms on the cup and passed it to Hermione who tucked it into the moleskin pouch Harry bought during Christmas. Harry then conjured an exact replica of the cup which will hold up to any scrutiny even from the goblins and placed it back on the pile. Taking Hermione's hand, they vanished from the vault.

At the same time a red light began flashing on Director Ragnok's desk. "Guards the Lestrange vault has been breached. Send in a contingent of our troops to the vault and capture them alive. I want to see who has the audacity to steal from the goblins" he bellowed. When his orders have been followed he himself got up from his desk and began walking down to the breached vault.

Meanwhile the goblin guards arriving at the vault were perplexed. They could detect that someone has entered the vault, a child by the looks of it but no one was there now. It has been only a couple of minutes since the alarm went off and before they arrived at the vault. No one could have got out of the vault and seal the door in such a short time. Not only that the entire corridor was empty and their scans did not pick up any evidence of human presence for a long time.

"Report" demanded Ragnok arriving at the scene.

The goblin in charge of the vault, Grindeaxe was taking an inventory of the items in the vault and he reported back, "Sir, it is true that someone entered the vault but nothing is missing. Every knut and every item recorded in our inventory is accounted for."

The commander of the goblin guards chipped in, "Director, my curse breakers did not detect any evidence that the doors have been opened. Our warders assure me that the wards also have not been breached. It looks impossible that anyone could have entered the vault."

"But still the detectors have recorded the presence of a human child" the director countered.

It was a hesitant Grindeaxe who gave them a way out, "Director, since nothing is missing from the vault we may assume that there was a false alarm. Besides, who would believe that it was a child that breached our defenses? I will order the detector to be replaced."

Ragnok looked thoughtful for a few moments and asserting his authority ordered, "Alright no one is to know about this incident. If it gets known to the humans, we may lose some of our business. Ensure that your troops are obliviated of this incident commander. Grindeaxe nothing about this should be reported, understood?"

Both the commander and Grindeaxe bowed to the director and hastened to do his bidding.

Directly from Gringotts Harry appeared in the kitchen of 12 Grimmauld Place. He was not really sure how safe the rest of the house was, and did not want to appear in a room that was not safe for Hermione to be in. Even then he was disgusted at the state the kitchen was in. The place was even worse than a rundown hovel; dirt caked everywhere and cobwebs littering the ceiling.

Harry knew that the house was in a bad shape but was shocked to see that it was worse than what he imagined. 'Mrs. Weasley must have had a very hard time cleaning it' he thought. Hermione wrinkled her nose in disgust not believing that this was the house of a prominent family in the wizarding world.

Harry tried to remember where they found the locket the first time, but was surprised to see Kreacher coming forward with it. What was more surprising was the bow he gave them both to an accompanied greeting, "My Lord."

Hermione wanted to know who the elf knew about them. "All the other sentient beings have the ability to recognize the lord and master who rules over them all. They are bound to serve and obey him without any expectation of returns. It is our way of showing gratitude to the lord of death who has the power to grant mercy at the end. It is only wizards and witches that are short sighted to see what is right in front of them."

Harry was still reeling under the shock of seeing a polite Kreacher and was unable to reply even to the curtsey Kreacher gave him at the beginning. The elf was wearing the same old dirty rags but was surprisingly coherent. He took the Locket Horcrux that was once the favourite of Salazar Slytherin and thanked the elf.

"It is we who have to thank you my lord. That day when all those who walk the earth and seen as equals is very near. We can finally have our dignity back and live as proud beings."

Hermione knew about the pathetic conditions that most of the house elves live in. They depend on their master's magic for their survival but that does not mean that they should be treated as bonded labour and humiliated. Thankfully Harry had a plan that will ultimately bring them out of their misery and she was glad that she was able to help him in that endeavor.

Kreacher continued in what now was a hopeful tone, "My Lord, I am frail and getting old. The noble house that I once served has fallen into perverted ways. Please release me from my pitiful existence."

Harry was sorry for the old elf, "Kreacher, the lord of this house Sirius Black would be released from his incarceration very soon. Then you can have a better life; I will ensure that you are treated well."

The elf however was adamant, "Thank you my Lord, but I am too old to serve my master as a lord of his stature should be. Please grant me mercy."

Harry was reluctant but Kreacher chose a dignified way to end his life and he was honour bound to grant him that. Raising his hand in a gesture of blessing harry granted him a painless death and sent him to the Elvin version of afterlife. Vanishing the body of the Elf, Harry returned to Hogwarts with Hermione.

Emerging on the seventh floor corridor, Harry paced in front of the tapestry asking for a room to hide objects. Entering the storage room, Harry made a beeline for the rack where Ravenclaw's diadem was hidden. Clutching the last of the horcrux they exited the room and closing the door, Harry again resumed his pacing asking for a fortified room that would not allow anything or anyone to enter or exit without his permission.

Taking Slytherin's Locket, HufflePuff's cup from Hermione he placed them on a raised stone platform along with Ravenclaw's diadem and the diary.

"Hermione Love, can you please put up a shield between yourself and the platform."

Hermione wanted to protest at being essentially brushed away to be a spectator. Harry's stare however brooked no argument and she conceded that she cannot be of much use and if staying behind a shield would make Harry happy, all the better.

Taking a breath, Harry changed to his six foot persona of death. He needed all the power and stamina that the bigger body will provide; he did not want to risk tiring out in the middle of the ritual. Gesturing and chanting Harry extracted the piece of soul from each object and forced them into the diary finally joining them together and binding them to the diary. It took him longer than the last time when he was dealing with a single piece but he had the help of the dementors also.

Reverting back to his normal self, Harry was engulfed in hug by Hermione. Holding her tight Harry kissed his fiancée putting all his passion behind the kiss which Hermione returned with equal fervor.

With a beaming smile Harry recapped, "Now there are only two parts of the soul, one in the diary horcrux and one inside Tom Riddle's spirit. All that is left is to confront him and finish his existence once and for all."

Hermione was also very happy in only be a few days they will be free of the tyranny of Voldemort. Taking the founder's objects in her hands she said, "I hope that every student will be able to see these wonderful relics. Promise me that they will see the light of the day."

Taking Hermione in his arms he kissed her tenderly, "Of course beautiful, once we take control of Hogwarts they will have a place of honour and the taint that they carried will forever be buried."

A few days later Harry approached the Weasley twins for the final piece of the puzzle and one that will grant Sirius his freedom.

"Guys I got my father's journal from my vault during Christmas and in that he wrote about a 'Marauder's Map' that will show everyone in the castle. I overheard you saying the password to activate the map. Do you have my father's map with you?"

Fred and George exchanged an incredulous look, "You say that your father was one of the Marauders?" one of the twins started, "Which one?" the other finished.

Harry grinned at their antics and said, "Prongs."

"Harry old chap, it is your legacy we are honoured to meet the son of a Marauder" and with exaggerated bows handed the map to him.

The common room was mostly empty by now as it was getting close to curfew and so Harry activated the map. Hermione was curious about it, having heard about the wonderful object from Harry, she was gushing at the lines and words that began materializing on the blank parchment.

"Harry, why is the name Peter Pettigrew showing up in your dorm room?" Hermione pointed out.

Both the Weasley twins were shocked at hearing the name. The whole wizarding world knew about the hero who died valiantly in an attempt to capture the dreaded criminal Sirius Black.

"If Pettigrew is alive then why is Sirius Black arrested?" the twins asked in unison.

Harry however wanted to end this soon before the rat got wind of their conversation, "The more important and relevant question is, what is he doing on Ron's bed?"

The twins immediately got up and began rushing up the stairs but Harry was faster, "Guys, it may be dangerous. We do not know what is going on, it's better if we call Professor McGonagall to handle this matter."

The twins agreed to this and they rushed out of the portrait hole ignoring the Fat Lady's cries of protest that it was nearing curfew. Harry and Hermione exchanged a satisfied smile and kept watch over the map, but Peter Pettigrew was not going anywhere.

A short time later the portrait hole opened to admit a slightly out of breath Professor McGonagall followed by the Weasley twins.

"What is this Mr. Potter, I am hearing about Peter Pettigrew being alive?"

Harry managed to hide the map from the professor and was hopeful that the twins did not reveal its existence. He was not sure how they convinced her but he was not going to give up the map.

"Yes Professor, he is on Ron's bed."

With that the professor immediately marched toward the first year boy's dorm. Fred whispered into Harry's ear, "Don't worry Harry we are not going to give up our secret weapon." All the four then ran up the stairs to catch up with the professor.

They saw Ron relaxing on his bed with a quidditch magazine; his rat was sleeping beside him, while the other four boys were amusing themselves. Ron leapt off his bed with a cry of surprise seeing his head of house standing in front of him. Before anyone could move Harry and Hermione stunned the rat.

"Mr. Potter" Professor McGonagall exclaimed.

"Must be an animagus" Hermione breathed pulling out a perfect act of being in awe.

McGonagall looked at her incredulously but still performed the reversal spell on the rat. She nearly had a heart attack when the rat was replaced with a balding middle aged man. Her stunner was only a fraction of a second slower than two more from Harry and Hermione.

Turning to the Weasley twins the professor barked, "You two help Mr. Potter guard this man while I fetch the headmaster."

"It may be a good idea to call the head of DMLE, Madam Bones also don't you think professor" Harry supplied.

The professor nodded her head and it was left to the four to explain the other four first year boys what the matter was. Only when Pettigrew was led away in manacles by Madam Bones and a few aurors did the couple relax and celebrate with an exuberant kiss.

Harry was summoned on a Saturday morning to the headmaster's office about a fortnight before their year ending exams; he was pretty sure what it was about and asked Hermione to come with him. Entering the office he saw that Professors McGonagall and Snape were also present.

Dumbledore opened the meeting with what he thought was an intimidating comment, "Ms. Granger, I do not believe that your presence is needed."

Hermione was not at all cowed by his tone, but she kept her silence; it was after all Harry's show and he did not disappoint, "Hermione is the person that I trust the most Sir. I asked her to be with me as I may need her advice."

The barb hit true and all the three professors were troubled by Harry's attitude. Dumbledore wanted a meek Harry if he was to prevent any trouble for himself when the word gets out about his innocent godfather. They could do nothing but give him that information now, "Harry my boy, I have some news for you. Your godfather, Sirius Black, is having his trial today and it is just a matter of time before he is released."

"So he is innocent and was sent to Azkaban without a trial?" Harry wanted to know.

Dumbledore ignored the question about the trial and with a condescending smile replied, "The capture of Peter Pettigrew gave us the information that he was your parent's secret keeper not Sirius. That alone is enough to prove his innocence"

"All this could have been answered with Sirius' own trial. Why did it take so long for him to get a trial sir?"

When no answer was forthcoming Harry plowed on oozing sarcasm, "If he had a trial then even he could have claimed that he was under the imperious curse if nothing else worked for him. I heard that it was in fashion during that time. When people like Lucius Malfoy who were guilty were freed, then at least one innocent victim could have been benefitted by that pathetic excuse."

All the three in authority were shocked. It did not matter to Dumbledore that what Harry was pointing out was the truth, it was only necessary for Harry not to have all the details. That was not possible now as it looked like Harry was well informed. What was more shocking was the behavior of Hermione Granger, the girl who usually respected authority figures looked like she was barely holding her fury in check.

Harry was not done yet, "Tell me something Sir, what would have happened to Sirius if I had not alerted Professor McGonagall about Pettigrew?"

Silence reigned in the office which was broken by Harry, "The muggle justice system works on the premise that not a single innocent should be punished even if ten guilty are freed. I believe that the opposite works here in the wizarding world." Standing up he gave a short bow to the three, "Thank you for ensuring that justice is done" he mocked before taking Hermione's hand and walking out of the office with his head held high.

Harry knew that the trail would draw Dumbledore out of the castle for the day as he was the head of the Wizengamot. With a fortifying lunch in their stomachs he led Hermione to the third floor corridor, "Let's get you a stone Hermione."

Passing Fluffy, Devil's snare and getting the winged key were easy for both of them. Harry thought that he would take Hermione directly to the room that had the 'Mirror of Erised' and the stone, but Hermione wanted to experience the obstacles herself. She could still not believe that Dumbledore thought that they would prevent a dark lord let alone a determined first year from getting through.

The only obstacle she thought might give them hard time was the chess set, but Harry determined that they could easily skip that room if it proved to be a tough challenge. He was confident though that he could beat the chess set in a game. Years of playing with Ron had given him enough skill and with some luck and help from Hermione they may even end up beating it in a fair game.

All their planning and anxiety was for naught though. As soon as they entered the room, both the white and the black king bowed low to them both and made a path for them to cross. Hermione even managed to curtsey back at them while Harry tried to look as if he expected that to happen.

Two quick stunners aimed at its face brought the Troll down and the potions puzzle was ridiculously easy for Hermione. She pouted, "This is not even a challenge Harry. How could Dumbledore think that they would stop Voldemort?"

She looked a little puzzled though, "There is only enough for one person, does that mean we have to skip this room?"

Harry gave her a ridiculously large smile as if to say 'I know something that you don't' which infuriated Hermione. With a playful huff she demanded, "Well?"

"Drink up Hermione, do not worry about me. After all I am immortal" he mock preened.

Sticking her tongue out at him, Hermione drank the potion from the small bottle shuddering at the feeling of ice permeating through her veins. Harry took her hand in his and led her through the black fire which died the moment they passed through.

Staring into the 'Mirror of Erised' Hermione blushed at what she saw and at Harry's questioning look answered him, "I see our older selves Harry, with my smiling parents behind us and two of our kids running around and I am pregnant. What do you see?"

To this Harry smiled at her, "I just see our own reflection, me standing with my arm around you."

Hermione looked at Harry with confusion evident in her eyes and so Harry clarified, "With you standing beside me, I do not desire anything else in the world. What you see will come one day but right now my greatest desire has been fulfilled with my arms around you."

Hermione could not stop the tears that sprang in her eyes, that was the most romantic thing she ever heard. Since learning about the mirror, she envisioned different scenarios that she was likely to see but Harry's vision was nothing like what she thought. She kissed him deeply in gratitude. Harry wiped away her tears with a gentle smile still playing on his lips.

"Dumbledore charmed the mirror so that only those who wanted to find the stone and not use it could get it out of the mirror. But he did not take me into account" Harry held out his palm and called the stone to him.

With the fabled Philosopher's stone now in their possession, Harry and Hermione vanished from the room far below the castle and appeared in a secluded spot near the lake. They enjoyed the rest of the evening with a leisurely stroll around the lake hand in hand.

The end of the exams relieved the entire student population of a heavy burden, but not for Harry. He was still keeping an eye on both Dumbledore and Professor Quirrell using the 'Marauder's Map'. He was not really sure about the exact date that Quirrell went after the stone but he knew that the day Dumbledore gets called out of the castle would be the day he would strike. That day came soon enough and 'death' was ready to deliver his vengeance on all.

Calling the chieftain of the dementor clan, Harry ordered the demenotrs to kill all the death eaters and anyone who has the dark mark on their arm. "Just spare the one who is called Severus Snape. He is in this castle; I will give him a chance to repent for his sins otherwise I will deal with him myself" and before Twern could go back he remembered, "Oh! Bartemius Crouch Jr. is being hidden by his father in his own home, do not forget him."

Covering Hermione in his invisibility cloak Harry apparated both of them into the final room that was sure to flummox Quirrell. Sure enough Quirrell was pacing in front of the 'Mirror of Erised' and was muttering under his breath, probably asking his master for advice about getting the stone out of the mirror. Harry in his 'death' persona, without the advantage of the cloak masking his features, allowed his aura to flare around him which covered his identity. He was going to make sure that Quirell and Voldemort would not be leaving the room alive, but he was not prepared to take any risk. Harry put up the strongest shield he could manage to protect Hermione and addressed Voldemort.

"Give it up Tom; nothing is going to save you from your death today."

Surprised at the sudden voice behind him Quirrell turned to face Harry. His heart raced and a sudden chill ran down his spine seeing the figure draped in an unearthly black aura. "Who are you? How dare you command my master?" He managed to choke out.

"Don't worry Quirrell; you will be meeting your fate sooner than your master" Harry thundered.

The voice of Voldemort called out from behind Quirrell's head, "Let me face him, how dare this pitiful human think that he can oppose Lord Voldemort?"

"No my lord you are not strong enough" Quirrell tried to dissuade.

"I am strong enough for this" Voldemort growled out but it came out like a whimper from beneath the heavy turban on Quirrell's head. Quirrell turned around and removed the turban to expose the face of who once was the most powerful wizard, after Dumbledore, on earth.

Hermione was repulsed at the pathetic face protruding out from behind Quirrell's head. Unicorn blood can bring the drinker back even from the verge of death but it does condemn him to a pitiful existence. Anyone who did not believe that would change their mind after seeing the current state of Voldemort. He was a parasite clinging to his follower not only killing him but also left totally dependent on the host for his survival.

"Who are you? I am the most powerful wizard; I cannot be killed" Voldemort repeated like a petulant child.

"I am here to extract payment for all your sins Tom Riddle. I am death" Harry told him.

"Kill him!" Voldemort commanded. Before Quirrell could move, Harry snapped his fingers and Quirrell fell down dead, condemning his soul to its just end.

Voldemort was using his magic to anchor himself to Quirrell's body and while Quirrell looked like he was alive, only Voldemort's magic was helping him function. Voldemort's possession left him nothing more than a vessel. With the life draining out of Quirrell, Voldemort was forced out of his body and was once again left as nothing but a spirit. "What is this magic? I cannot be beaten; I do not fear you" his voice betraying the same emotion he was trying to deny.

"Oh! You should fear me Tom your end is near. You have tried to evade me and now is the time for you to pay for your crimes against humanity."

"You cannot kill me, only Potter has been prophesied to even touch me, not that he could even dream about defeating me."

"What makes you think that I am not Harry Potter" Harry replied amusement laced in his voice.

With that Harry removed the diary containing the remaining piece of Tom Riddle's soul. Seeing the diary, the spirit was now in a state of panic. He now really feared for his life, and tried to possess the being that threatened him. His attempts were however, soundly thwarted, weakening him further.

Releasing the remaining piece of soul from the diary, Harry forced it back into the spirit of Tom Riddle and cast a spell to merge it back with the original piece. The forced merger of his soul pieces left Voldemort in agony; it was nothing like what he ever felt. All the pain he forced on his victims, when torturing them before ending their lives, came back amplified. It was retribution for all the tortured souls that were victims of the dark lord.

Hearing the inhuman cries of Tom Riddle who now contained his soul in full, Hermione shuddered. No one should endure such pain but she did not feel any pity for Tom, he was just getting back a portion of what he inflicted upon his victims. This was justice at its finest.

Harry called out to Voldemort's spirit, "Tom it is now your turn to face your punishment for all the pain you have caused. This is just the beginning; I condemn you to an eternity of pain and damnation." Harry snatched up Voldemort's soul and sent it on for what was waiting for him in the afterlife.

During this confrontation, Twern came back to the chamber and he was rejoicing. They were at the end of their own pitiful existence and can now reclaim their lost honour.

Hermione removed the cloak while Harry reverted back to his less intimidating self. Grabbing him in a hug Hermione began jumping for joy. Harry chuckled at her antics and lifted her in his arms and twirled around a few times. Kissing her soundly on her lips he set her down, now they can look forward for a life full of peace and love.

The chieftain of the dementors spoke, "My Lord your wishes have been carried out. All the tainted souls have been released from their bodies and sent on for their punishment."

"Thank you Twern, may you find the peace you have been looking for. I now release you from your curse; you can return to your own world now and reclaim your position of honour" Harry released their captive souls and let the Venustas leave earth and return to their own existence.

Harry and Hermione marveled at the ease with which they were able to accomplish what took more than seven years in Harry's previous experience. It's a pity that the world would not know about the way that Voldemort met his end. They embraced and began kissing in earnest letting all the tension and fear of the unknown out of their mind. Thankfully their bodies were still young and they did not move any further than just kissing and only relented when the need for air forced them apart. They finally realized that they were still in the bowels of Hogwarts.

Catching her breath Hermione asked, "What about Snape?"

"Let him see tomorrow's news and stew for a day" Harry replied with an impish grin on his face. They shared a chuckle before Harry got them back to the common room before heading to their respective dorms to retire for the night.

Early next morning, Dumbledore was informed by the castle elves that Professor Quirrell was missing. He asked for the professors to look for him around the castle before leading McGonagall and Snape to the stone. They were shocked to see a very much dead Quirrell and a broken 'Mirror of Erised'. Dumbledore was frantic, 'did Voldemort succeed in getting the stone? Did he get a body back?' were a few of the questions running through his mind.

McGonagall began berating Dumbledore, "I told you not to bring the stone to the castle. Now it seems that Voldemort has managed to attain it. We had ten years of peace and now we are faced with that monster again."

It was a thoughtful Dumbledore that answered her, "Calm down Minerva. We do not see any signs of the elixir having been made, so that means that Voldemort has not gained a body. It is possible that he did not gain the stone and so he destroyed the mirror in frustration. Unless he managed to possess another body before leaving this room, he could not have taken the stone with him. No I think that the stone has been destroyed and Voldemort is still a spirit."

The other two breathed a sigh of relief, it did look logical and possibly the best explanation they could think of. Dumbledore led the two professors out of the room hosting Fluffy, now there was no need for the enormous three headed cerberus. But his troubles have only begun, reaching the great hall he was greeted by loud headlines on the 'Daily Prophet' delivering hammer blows to the wizarding public.

_**Many Prominent Citizens Turn Out to be Death Eaters**_

_**Dementors on a kissing Spree**_

_**Has Justice Been Finally Delivered?**_

_By Rita Skeeter_

There was no need for Rita to embellish, the truth was sensational enough. The article went on to say that the dementors have not been seen since and all those that have been kissed were marked death eaters. It went on listing all the names of those killed and incidentally they were all those that claimed to have been under the imperious curse. Justice has finally been served!

That night Severus Snape was unable to sleep. Looking at the article announcing the names of all those killed, he realized that of all those marked, he was the only one that survived. Was this a coincidence or was something else going on?

His pacing was interrupted by a disembodied voice reverberating within the walls of his quarters.

"Severus Snape, you have been found guilty of many crimes but also have atoned for them working to overthrow the darkness."

Snape breathed a sigh of relief hearing these words; there was still hope for him. The voice continued, "You still torment the kids in your care tilting the balance against your atonement. You have a chance to correct your behavior; if you do not change you will follow the way your old master went."

Snape gulped, "who are you?"

"I am death" Harry answered from under his cloak and Hermione suppressed a giggle from Harry's side. Seeing the hated Professor sweating was a sweet memory. Delivering the warning Harry and Hermione returned back to their dorm.

Severus Snape decided to do the only thing he could think of if he had to refrain from hexing the infuriating students he was teaching. He resigned from his job.

Before leaving the castle Snape went to meet Dumbledore who was surprised by his decision and wanted to know why. Snape described in detail about his encounter with 'death' and the new lease of life given to him.

"Are you sure you did not dream this Severus?"

Snape pulled the sleeve of is robe back to show him the unblemished skin, "It does not matter if it is a dream. All the death eaters are dead now; I am the only one who survived. I cannot take any more risks and end up dead."

"I want you in the castle Severus; I need you when Voldemort returns to his body."

He nearly growled this time, "Did you not see? The mark is gone. Whoever was in my room last night told me that he killed not only all the death eaters but also Tom Riddle. I want nothing to do with teaching any more. I may end up killing someone, though Potter and Longbottom are on the top of the list."

Dumbledore sighed and removed his glasses to rub his eyes in a tired gesture, "Do you think that Harry is this 'death' you met? Did he reunite the Hallows?"

"Surely you do not believe that fairy tale headmaster. Master of death indeed" he scoffed.

"The elder wand disappeared from my office during Christmas, the same time that I gave Harry back his father's cloak."

"Potter is certainly intelligent and hardworking" Snape allowed. "He is also very powerful and still growing, but being raised in a muggle family, how can he know about the Hallows? Moreover he was nowhere near the castle at Christmas." Snape narrowed his eyes, "Did you find the Elder wand on him?" he asked suspiciously.

"No, and he does not use the cloak either. It is almost always in his dorm room, except for a few times that he brought it down to the common room probably showing it off to his friends."

"At least he has the good sense not to go wandering about the castle, unlike his father" Snape sneered. "The end of the term is only a couple of days away and I have no more classes to teach. So this is goodbye Sir."

Dumbledore let out a frustrated sigh. The wizarding world has been rocked and being the head of the Wizengamot he has been inundated with letters from all quarters. It is at times like this he wished for a better minister, Fudge is pliable enough for his needs but that also meant that he was stretched thin.

'Is the power he knows not actually the power of death' Dumbledore mused. 'Is it even possible for a human to control all the three Hallows? If Harry is really this 'death' how could he know about the resurrection stone, better yet how would he know where to find it? Even I could not find it in all these years of searching for it.' Dumbledore could make neither head not tail of his thoughts.

He decided to keep an eye out for any reports of Voldemort. He suspected long ago that Quirrell was possessed by Voldemort; the presence of the Philosopher's stone was a definite enticement for him. It would be a disaster if he did get the stone. 'Did I mess it up badly' were his final thoughts on that matter.


	5. Chapter Five: Aftermath and ever after

**Declaration: ****I write for my own pleasure and not for profit. I do not own Harry Potter Universe.**

**Chapter Five: Aftermath and ever after**

Leaving the Hogwarts express, Harry found Sirius waiting for him and to his delighted surprise Remus Lupin too. With Sirius refusing to let Harry live with the Dursleys, Dumbledore was forced to concede defeat and let him live at 12 Grimmauld Place. The only concession they allowed was to let him perform the fidelius charm on the house, a minor inconvenience but was well worth the privacy it afforded them.

Harry was not ready to live in the hovel that was Sirius' ancestral house and so he convinced Sirius to buy Dobby from his cousin Narcissa Malfoy. With Lucius dead, she needed all the financial help to get her house running. Sirius refused to provide for her and her arrogant son. She was even forced to sell the manor to raise enough money to clear all their debts and also pay the ministerial fine. She was now looking for a job to support their daily needs and to continue sending Draco to Hogwarts.

A few days into the summer holidays for the kids, Sirius invited the Grangers to his house so that they could finalize the details of their upcoming vacation to southern Italy. He wanted plenty of sunshine to erase out the horrors of his stay at Azkaban and the beaches were calling him. With the contents of Bellatrix's vault added to the Black family vault, he had plenty of coin and was paying for all six of them.

Entering the house, Hermione was secretly amazed at the changes. Dobby had transformed the dark and dreary atmosphere into one of a tastefully furnished and brightly lit, welcoming home.

Sipping their tea in the living room, Sirius announced some big news, "Harry, Remus has been offered the position of DADA professor and I have been offered to teach potions at Hogwarts. We have decided to take up on Dumbledore's offer."

Harry exchanged a look with Hermione, which she answered by a nod of her own. The adults in the room watched the by play and were amazed at their ability to communicate so effortlessly. Harry though wanted something more from Sirius, "That's great news Sirius. I do not know how good you are at potions but I guess anyone will be better than Snape." Everyone laughed at Sirius' pout.

"But I have a request of you" at a questioning look from Sirius Harry continued, "Do not accept the position." He held up his hand to forestall his protests, "Right now we are at the crossroads Sirius. Many of the so called pillars of our society turned out to be death eaters. Their agenda was driving the ministry policies. I do not know to what end but it could not have been towards prosperity."

Everyone nodded their agreement at his assessment. "Now we have a chance to build a better world. With all of the death eaters gone, there can be no more threats to our society. We cannot afford to be held back any more and the time is ripe for some serious changes. If we leave the current situation of our society like this who knows where me might end up in a few years from now. Fudge is a fool who has to be led by his ears. You do the leading and in the correct direction. He now has how many years in office?" he asked.

"Three" Remus supplied the answer.

"Three years, in this time build a reputation for yourself. Take up the two seats we have at the wizgemont, yours and mine. Use your flair and that Marauding brain to lead the current policy makers by the nose. Formulate some good and just laws so that there is no repeat of what you had to go through, and that will also prevent any future dark lords. Three years should be enough for you to gain some popularity and then stand in the election for the post of the minister. I will endorse you and I bet that many of the members will support a good government for a better life."

Everyone except Hermione was stunned, even the elder Grangers were impressed by his foresight and passion. Harry and Hermione spent a lot of time discussing about what needs to change and they were hoping that Sirius would be the catalyst for change.

"Why me Harry?" Sirius was seriously thinking about what Harry said. He could see the need for a strong leader and wanted to know Harry's reasons for choosing him.

"I do not know anyone else who can do the job Sirius. I have heard about Madam Bones but I think it is best for her to stay at DMLE to back up the laws; there is no point in formulating some laws without follow up action and order. All the others could be controlled even by well-meaning people like Dumbledore, but I am sure that you are above that. My parents found you worthy enough to take care of me, now I am asking you to take care of the rest of the wizarding world."

Everyone was now contemplating his words and he decided to throw in some levity, "Besides if you get a big head, Hermione is there to kick your arse." Hermione gave her emphatic support to that sentiment.

After the laughter and general ribbing of Sirius died down, "OK guys, I will do it" Sirius announced to general cheer. Remus was pounding on the table in support.

"I will need your inputs though, yours too Hermione, on how to deal with some of the laws. With the passion you have shown, I am now sure that you may already have some ideas."

"We will help you Sirius. I do not like to be in the spotlight but I will do my best to help you bring in a new world order. A world where everyone, be it a goblin, elf or a muggleborn, are treated with respect and equality."

Shouts of "Hear, Hear" accompanied his statement.

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The next election after three years saw Sirius being elected to the office of the minister of magic. Harry and Hermione actively took part in the planning of many laws and advised him bringing about a lot of changes. Much legislation was formulated promoting equality for all species and business generally thrived in all the goodwill. Sirius openly acknowledged the fact that many of these laws were the brain child of Harry Potter and Hermione Granger. This fact helped swing the public opinion in their favour, 'if the Boy-who-lived can tolerate other lesser creatures then they could too.' They did not want to disappoint their savior after all.

Sirius' policies ensured that Harry did not have to be called often to adjudicate as 'death' in the wizarding world. The muggle world also did not bother him much, though the few instances that he had to intervene in either world did not take him too long, certainly not long enough to be missed. Except his immediate family, the Potters and the Grangers, the general public including Sirius and Remus were ignorant of his duty as 'death'.

By the time Harry and Hermione graduated with full honors, Albus Dumbledore was forced to admit that Lord Voldemort was indeed dead. Though he initially harbored the doubt that Severus Snape left the castle due to his hatred towards Harry Potter and not because of Voldemort's death, the lack of any signs of Voldemort's return aided by the fact that all the death eaters were dead finally convinced him to publically acknowledge the truth.

Now with no reason for him to cling on to his numerous positions, Dumbledore gradually faded to the background. Only the threat of Voldemort's return prompted Dumbledore to hold on to the headmaster's office at Hogwarts. With that no longer a factor, he lost his will to remain in the castle and gracefully retired on Harry's graduation day hoping that Harry himself will take over the position.

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Harry and Hermione enjoyed an extended courtship during their school days at Hogwarts. Hermione was able to totally relax and enjoy spending time with Harry secretly relishing his efforts to woo her. Hermione had already agreed to marry him but was thrilled at Harry's antics to flatter her. They eventually married at 22 years of age finally allowing Hermione's mother some peace of mind.

Hermione's vision from the 'Mirror of Erised' came true five years later being the mother of two boys, one 4 years old and the other 2, and carrying their third child, a girl. They had a total of 5 kids of their own but that did not stop them though, as 7 more kids, all orphaned before their second birthday found new parents in the form of Lord and Lady Gryffindor.

Both Sirius and Harry put their enormous wealth to good use coming to the rescue of many of the victims of war or those too weak to support their living. Their charities also extended into the muggle world where Harry was frequently in the lime light due to his job as a member of the House of Lords. As much as he tried to stay away from publicity, his noble acts did put him on a pedestal and he gradually learnt to take the accolades in the spirit they were offered.

Harry did eventually become the headmaster of Hogwarts with Hermione as his deputy, but not before he turned 25. They spent the time after their graduation in earning their masteries, Defense and Ancient Runes for Harry, and Transfiguration and Arithmancy for Hermione.

Instead of holding a regular position at the school, they concentrated on teaching more obscure branches of magic to willing students. Harry took time to keep abreast of the political situation also providing his input whenever necessary and ensuring that the laws enacted were just and fair. Many new graduates from all over the world fought for positions as their apprentices and they were only saddened to leave the loveable teachers at the end of their tenure. More importantly Harry preached tolerance, tolerance to the quirks and mistakes of the others and strived to bring about a general change in the mindset of people especially the purebloods.

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After spending 15 long years at the helm of affairs, Sirius finally retired from public office and spent his time as a gentleman overseeing His and Harry's vast fortunes. In the company of his muggleborn wife and 4 children, Sirius made himself a comfortable home in the country only using his London home when attending his Wizgemont duties.

Remus Lupin continued in the DADA position, the curse on that job dispelled after the death of Tom Riddle. He married Sirius' cousin, Nymphadora 'Say the name and I will kill you' Tonks and gave them their godson Teddy back. Remus held on to his position for many years to come and with dueling lessons made available to students, Mrs. Lupin was also included as a staff at Hogwarts.

The Black, Lupin and Potter families met regularly and flourished for many generations. Even after many years they remained a close knit family with Hogwarts being their bastion.

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Finally at the age of 250 years Harry and Hermione retired from public view, Hogwarts thriving in the capable hands of their own descendants left them no regrets. They spent their time touring the world learning about different cultures and their magic, or just taking advantage of their eternal youth enjoying the various romantic spots the world had to offer.

Harry ultimately passed on the mantle of being 'death' and the enormous amount of knowledge he accumulated through the years at a ripe old age of 750. The new 'death' turned out to be a non-magical woman in her early teens and was remarkably similar to Harry in her character. The Philosopher's stone was also turned over to her so that she herself could find the joy and peace Hermione found in her life beside her soul mate.

The two best friends passed on peacefully a few days later, holding the other in their arms and a satisfied smile on their faces.

**THE END**


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